Based on statistics, it has been proven that more than a billion people are infected with helminths, which are popularly called worms. However, these indicators are conditional, because they were established on the basis of the number of people who sought help from specialists who assigned a diagnosis of helminth infestation.
In life, every person encounters worms at least once in their life (regardless of age and gender), but many are simply not aware of their infection and continue to transmit worms to other people. At the initial stages of infection, they do not create discomfort, but in case of mass infestations they can lead to toxic poisoning and even death. Therefore, you should know what worms are, what they look like in the body and how to overcome the acquired disease.
Doctors have already studied many "uninvited guests" in the body of animals and people that overload the immune system and are capable of making holes in blood vessels by gnawing on them. This causes serious consequences in the form of erosions and other diseases, so helminthic infestations must be treated first.
Types of worms
Among the numerous varieties of helminths, the greatest harm can be caused to the body by 3 classes of worms: flukes, roundworms and tapeworms. Let's look at what these worms look like in humans.
Roundworms
The class of roundworms is commonly called nematodes. This is one of the most common types of worms that infect the human body. However, in addition to parasitic nematodes, there are also free-living nematodes, so they are not found inside the human body.
In the photo you can see the body of nematodes, which is characterized by a round shape, and that is why they were added to the class of roundworms. They have a thin and elongated body, and its ends are pointed on both sides.
During examination, the following worms of this class are most often found in the human body: whipworm, roundworm, trichina (Trichinella) and pinworm. These types of worms in humans can be seen in the photo.
Male roundwormshave a shorter body length than females. Females can grow up to 40 centimeters. Roundworms are localized in the intestines, poisoning the body with toxic substances. When there is a large accumulation of parasites inside this cavity, they are able to close the intestinal lumen and impede patency. If you refuse treatment, the invasion can lead to death, because unnecessary substances in the body will no longer be eliminated, and toxic poisoning will reach its limit.
PinwormsThey bark smaller in size compared to roundworms. The length of their body does not exceed 1 cm. These representatives actively reproduce, because living in the small intestine and rectum, they have access to the anus, and crawling out of it, the females lay larvae on the intrafemoral part, the anus, between the buttocks. At one time, one individual pinworm can lay up to 15, 000 eggs, creating skin irritation. Then the infected person begins to scratch the irritant, contributing to the spread of helminths to others. Most often, pinworms are found in children, so preschool and school institutions and institutions with large crowds of people must be screened for worm eggs.
Whipwormis an equally dangerous parasite, because the females of this helminth lay 3, 000-4, 000 eggs daily. When the worm has reached sexual maturity, it has a thread-like anterior end, constituting 2/3 of the length of the body, and a thick posterior end of a gray-pink color, with transverse stripes. The average length of a helminth is 3-5 cm. The tails of female and male representatives differ: in females it is characterized by a bend, and in males it is spiral-shaped.
The danger of infection with whipworm is that this worm penetrates into the mucous membrane and deep layers. Can affect smooth muscle and feed on tissue fluid.
Trichinais a particularly dangerous parasite that lives inside the muscles and intestinal walls of humans. Visually, the worm looks like a long, twisted thread, reaching 4. 5 mm and 1. 6 mm in diameter. The vital activity of such a helminth can lead to the death of the carrier if therapeutic measures are not taken in time.
Flukes
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Many people are interested in what parasites in the human body (photo) of the fluke class look like. In medical practice, they are nicknamed trematodes, but the most interesting thing is that they do not suck anything out of the body, but feed on mucus, blood and what passes through the affected area by worms. Trematodes can grow up to 1. 5 meters in length, and are located not only in the intestines, but also in other organs (even in the conjunctival sac).
However, worms of the class flukes are able to adhere to the intestinal walls, and thus resist accidental excretion along with feces. These parasites have a functional digestive tract and reproductive system, but the respiratory and circulatory systems function at a minimal level.
Tapeworms
Tapeworms- a class of flatworms, which is divided into tapeworms and tapeworms. These individuals rarely enter the human body directly. Most often, infection with them occurs due to a person eating fish infected with these parasites, but in animals they occur only at the larval stage, and reach maturity inside an individual that has a backbone.
Parasites of this class have a special anatomical structure of the body, so the head of the worm serves only for attachment to the intestinal wall, and this worm receives nutrition using the entire body. The food of their host serves as food for tapeworms, but the helminth is not digested by gastric juice, becausereleases a substance called antikinase.
Despite the similarity of these worms, when making a diagnosis it is imperative to distinguish them in order to establish the correct treatment method.
Tapeworms have 2 suckers on their heads, allowing them to securely attach to the intestinal wall, unlike representatives - tapeworms, which have 4 clinging teeth. The body length of the tapeworm can reach 18 meters, and occupy the entire length of the small intestine.
How can you become infected with these worms?
The spread of helminths begins with phase 1, characterized by the entry of helminth eggs into the human body. Then they hatch, becoming larvae (phase 2), and move throughout the body until they settle in organs or systems, but most often they remain in the intestines. In phase 3, worms are no longer able to migrate throughout the body, but they are quite capable of multiplying and infecting a healthy population.
Despite the variety of worms and their characteristics, infestation can be combined. This indicates the possibility of simultaneous residence in the digestive tract or organs of different types of worms, without interfering with each other.
Infection with worms can occur in 3 ways:
- From person to person.
- Through the ground.
- When following a raw food diet and eating poorly processed foods, in particular vegetables and fruits, herbs.
Signs of infection
Signs of helminth infection can be very different, but first of all you should start from the stage of infection:
- Acute. Lasts no more than 20 days. In this case, extensive allergic reactions of unknown origin are observed. This is due to the immune system's response to a stimulus. The allergy causes a skin rash, and clinical blood tests show eosinophil levels higher than normal.
- Acquired. The disease at this stage can develop over 2-3 years. In this case, the symptoms depend on the organ in which the parasites live, their number, and how much they have damaged the tissue walls or body systems. In severe situations, they cause inflammation, and fast-growing species can have fatal consequences.
It is very important to know what parasites of any type look like, because sometimes dead adults can be passed along with feces, then based on the description of their appearance, you can speed up diagnosis and quickly select a treatment method.
Timely detection of helminths plays an important role in human life, because not all parasites are able to exist practically harmlessly inside the body. It is recommended that the whole family be examined by a doctor at least 1-2 times a year, wash your hands before eating, eat only well-processed foods and use folk anthelmintic remedies for prevention: clove or wormwood powder, walnut peel tincture.